1. Field
This invention relates to the field of data security. In particular, the invention relates to a platform and method for securely transmitting information using an ephemeral asymmetric key pair.
2. Background
In today's society, it is becoming necessary to transmit digital data from one location to another in a manner that is clear and unambiguous to a legitimate receiver, but incomprehensible to any illegitimate recipients. Accordingly, such data is typically encrypted by a software application executing some predetermined encryption algorithm and is transmitted to the legitimate receiver in encrypted form. The legitimate receiver then decrypts the transmitted data for use.
Often, encryption/decryption of data is accomplished through symmetric key cryptography. For symmetric key cryptography, the sender uses a key to encrypt data prior to transmission over an unsecured link. The receiver uses the same key to decrypt the data upon receipt. Although symmetric key cryptography is computationally simple, it requires complex key management. For instance, each sender would require a different symmetric key to communicate with an intended receiver, thereby making it difficult, if not impossible, to support a large number of persons. Another method of encryption/decryption is to create two separate key (referred to as a “key pair”). One key (public key) of the key pair is normally used for encryption while the other key (private key) of the key pair is normally used for decryption of the data. This method is commonly referred to as “asymmetric key cryptography”. One disadvantage associated with asymmetric key cryptography is that the key pairs are not erasable after each communication session. Instead, they are permanently assigned and used for all communications. Thus, any disclosure of the private key mitigates or perhaps eliminates the security of any subsequent or previous communications.